Super Bowl winner. NFL Most Valuable Player. Highest-paid player in league history. Dodgeball champion?
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers added a rather unique item to his résumé Thursday during the Green Bay Packers' annual team-building activity. With the Packers opting for a dodgeball tournament this year in place of a third day of minicamp practice, Rodgers captained the winning team.
"I've watched (the movie) 'Dodgeball' many times," Rodgers told the Packers official website. "And I've followed the five D's in dodgeball – dodge, duck, dip, dive and, of course, dodge. Patches O'Houlihan and I are good buddies."
O'Houlihan, a character from the movie played by actor Rip Torn and Hank Azaria, wrote those five basic rules of dodgeball. And yes, "dodge" accounts for two of the five "D's" of dodgeball. It looks like Rodgers put them to good use.
The victorious Team Rodgers also consisted of wide receiver Randall Cobb, defensive lineman Johnny Jolly, kicker Mason Crosby, long-snapper Brett Goode and two undrafted rookies, quarterback Matt Brown and offensive lineman Lane Taylor.
"It's not always about the first picks," Rodgers told Packers.com. "It's sometimes about the late-round guys that come through for you, and they did."
Rodgers' team beat a group captained by wide receiver James Jones in the finals of the dodgeball tournament.
"There was a lot of trash-talking before that match, but we did our talking with the dodgeball," Rodgers said.
Last year, coach Mike McCarthy took his players skeet shooting. With consecutive days of rain in Green Bay this week, the Packers had to find an indoor activity and decided on dodgeball. In previous years, the team participated in paintball, bowling and a home run derby.
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